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115 Civil Society Groups Urge China to Suspend Disastrous Pipelines in Burma

Embargoed Press release for October 28, 2009

115 civil society organizations and political parties from 20 countries today submitted an open letter
to China’s President Hu Jintao calling for the suspension of oil and gas pipelines through Burma in
order to prevent rights abuses and regional instability, avoiding financial and image risks to China.
Petitions were submitted by the Shwe Gas Movement and its solidarity networks at Chinese
Embassies in Thailand, India, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Malaysia, Australia, Sweden,
Norway, the Netherlands and the UK.

State-owned China National Petroleum Corporation holds a majority stake in the construction of dual
oil and gas pipelines which will transfer oil shipped from the Middle East and Africa as well as
natural gas from the Shwe Gas fields in western Burma to China’s Yunnan Province. The project will
provide the military junta a minimum of 29 billion US dollars over 30 years.

Abuses are already starting to surface in the project area, including beatings of fishermen and fishing
prohibitions in the offshore drilling area as well as confiscation of land at the start of the pipeline in
Arakan State.

Burma ranks tenth in the world in terms of natural gas reserves yet its per capita electricity
consumption is less than 5% of neighbouring Thailand and China, as it exports most of its energy
resources. Increased fuel prices led to country-wide demonstrations in 2007, which were cracked
down upon by the Burma Army.

“Land confiscation and other human rights abuses in the pipeline corridor and exporting the oil and
gas while people across the country is facing energy shortages is a dangerous mix that will cause
social unrest and conflicts between local people and foreign corporations, says Wong Aung,
International Coordinator of Shwe Gas Movement.

Unresolved conflicts between the Burma regime and ethnic ceasefire armies along the planned
pipeline route in northern Shan State led to a military offensive by the Burma Army in August forcing
over thirty thousand ethnic Kokang to escape to China.

Last month the Danish Pension Fund Danica Pension blacklisted one of the main stakeholders in the
Shwe project, Daewoo International, citing a “breach of international guidelines in connection with its
activities in Burma.” Other pension funds are reported to be monitoring the corporations involved in
the Shwe gas pipelines project.

“China has the power to suspend this project, and rather that being part of the problem, becoming part
of a long-term solution by promoting equitable development of the people of the two nations and
peace in the region,” says Kim , Shwe Gas Movement ,India.

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The Shwe Gas Movement is a coalition of organizations from Burma based in Thailand, India,
Bangladesh and Burma. See www.shwe.org for more information

Contact:

Mr.Wong Aung +66(0)873008354 ( Thailand)


Mr.Aung Marm Oo +66 (0) 816736326
Mr.Kim, +91(0) 9810 476 273,( India)
E-mail global@shwe.org

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